


This is a Nice Cave

by Oh_Shiny



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Camping, F/M, Humor, I can't think of tags for this, Potty Mouthed Youths, Should have posted in the morning instead of late at night
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-12
Packaged: 2018-05-11 17:36:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5635771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oh_Shiny/pseuds/Oh_Shiny
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mamoru and Usagi go camping with their friends and they fight like usual, until they get lost and have to rely on each other to keep safe and warm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Never written for this fandom, ever. But hey, there is a first time for everything and I'm finding it a fun fic to write so far. Got the plot bunny from a site called Destiny's Gateway, which I do plan on joining and uploading this fic to out of respect for the fact that I was too lazy to come up with a plot on my own and snagged one from there instead. Any who, hope you enjoy. More to come soon. :)

“Please, Usagi? Please, please, pleeeeeease.”

Usagi hated to admit it but the incessant begging was starting to wear her down—but no! She couldn’t! If she just stuck to her guns for a wee bit longer then Makoto would finally give up, right? She rolled her eyes as her friend took one of her hands in both of hers and gave a small squeeze, green eyes big and shinning with hope and she _was_ starting to look rather pathetic. Guh! Who was she kidding? Usagi knew that she would give into the brunette’s pleas long before she ceased pleading.

With a heavy sigh, Usagi looked down at the forgotten chocolate shake Makoto and bought for her. Bribing material, nothing but a ploy to get her all buttered up before she dropped the weekends not so great plan on her.

“Motoki is always working. How am I supposed to get the guy interested when the only time we spend together is when he’s taking my order for food and drink? This is my chance, Usagi. A weekend away with fresh air, roasting marshmallows and all that other camping stuff, but most importantly I can get quality time with Motoki. I need this!”

“So you get to spend the weekend trying to woo ole lover boy and I get to spend it putting up with that pig-headed nerd.” Usagi pointed out, intent on clarifying how this weekend could quite possibly be a misery for her. Of course _he_ would be going. Why wouldn’t he be? He was Motoki’s closest friend, after all. She didn’t know what she hated about this the most—being around that jerk for two full days or all the bugs that would be taking every opportunity to turn her into an all you can eat buffet.

“And that is why we recruit a buffer for you and Mamoru. Ami would be prefect, she could be your Switzerland. Everybody wins.” Makoto grinned, a stretch of teeth and cheeks rising high. Usagi raised an eyebrow at that; Ami hated camping, more so than she did.

With a clearing of her throat and a sheepish look, Makoto looked away from the blonde. “Ami has already said yes, by the way. She said she needs a break from all the studying and that going camping would be the perfect opportunity to cleanse her mind or some such rubbish.”

“I just don’t get it. Why, if there is already four of you going, do I need to go?” This was something that Usagi just couldn’t wrap her mind around.

“Well—” Makoto took a pause as an even more sheepish look passed across her face as her cheeks blossomed in a blush “—It’s just that your dad has all that great camping gear and without it the weekend would be a no go.”

So annoying! Usagi sighed again then mumbled something inarticulate and possibly rude before the inevitable happened—she caved, completely and utterly caved. “Okay, fine! But just so you know, this weekend is totally going to blow for me and you owe me big time.”

Makoto cheered, delighted, and reached across the table to throw her arms around Usagi’s slim neck. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Seriously, I will make you dessert for a week, your absolute favourites!”

With a grumble, Usagi returned the hug with an affectionate pat to Makoto’s back. “Oh, and one more thing,” the blonde decided to add. “In no way am I sorting out the gear, you can come around tonight and do that yourself.”

 

* * *

 

As promised, Usagi sat in a bean bag, wrapped in a blanket and munched on a bag of corn chips as Makoto had rummaged through her garage and prepared for what would most likely be the worst weekend of Usagi’s life. Dramatic, she knew, but it didn’t stop the frown that came to grace her features every time she thought of that arrogant ass, Mamoru, and how many hours she would be in his presence for.

In hindsight, her time would have been better spent on actually helping Makoto instead of watching her stress for hours on end about what they should be taking. At least then the brunette would have left her house at a decent hour instead of keeping Usagi up until half one in the morning. The real kicker? Just as Makoto was slipping out the front door she decided that that moment would be the perfect opportunity to inform Usagi that they would be picking her up at 6am, and then promptly shut the door behind her and ran down the path. 6am! Who even gets up that early on the weekend?!

So now here she was, blurry eyed, half asleep and slumped against camping gear as she waited for her ride. Her breath puffed out in clouds before her, the cold ground had turned her butt numb and just why exactly had she agreed to this? It already sucked. Oh, and she was hungry—there was a definite need to stop for snacks as soon as possible, and she totally called shotgun on sitting in the front. Usagi had never been the best traveller and she couldn’t wait to make Mamoru sit in the crowded back seat while she got to luxuriate in all her space.

She started to smile at the thought of getting under his skin, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards slyly only for them drop back down when she heard the purr of a car engine getting louder the closer it got to her house. Ugh! She knew that car, it was probably the only car that was familiar to her other than her parents and just… damn it if it wasn’t Mamoru’s car that came to a stop in front of her drive rather than Motoki’s.

Makoto bounded out from the back door like an excited puppy, skipping up the drive while giving Usagi an exaggerated wink before hefting the small blonde up from the ground by one arm. “Ouch, watch it,” Usagi complained. It was just far too early for this much exuberance to sit well with her.

“I swindled it so we’d take Mamoru’s car,” Makoto whispered enthusiastically. “And since you’re 100% guaranteed to ralph when sitting in the back, Motoki offered the front seat to you which means I get to sit with him in the back.”

“Yay for you,” Usagi whispered back far less eagerly than her friend had. Fantastic, now she had to sit closer to that jerk face than she’d planned. Said jerk face was now making his way up the drive along with a smiling, waving Motoki and… wait, where was Ami? Ami was Switzerland, Ami was imperative to her sanity!

“Where is Ami?” It came out as a hiss from between Usagi’s clenched teeth, causing Makoto to take a step away and rub at the back of her neck nervously.

“Well, so it turns out she has an assignment to hand in first thing Monday morning and she kind of decided not to come.”

Oh, that was just great! “I have the exact same assignment,” now she was whining, “and I blew it off to come.” That wasn’t true, she hadn’t planned on doing it at all and she was fully prepared to beg for an extension first thing Monday morning. But okay, she could do this. She _could_ be civil. It was just for a day and a bit, surely she could make it through that length of time without a Mamoru buffer.  

“And that attitude is exactly why Ami is going to have a fulfilling career once she finishes up with school and you most likely won’t.”

And it opens his mouth. Really, right off the bat it’s an insult? Screw being civil! With more strength than she was generally willing to exert at such an early hour, Usagi picked up one of the tents and threw it at Mamoru’s chest as hard as she feasibly could. “Start loading the car, pack mule.” It landed perfectly in his cradled arms, of course. Stupid Mamoru and his stupid lightning reflexes. It was enough to cause her to pout, and she did, the entire time they packed all the equipment into the boot of the car and then some.

It wasn’t until they’d been on the road for at least half an hour before Usagi let out an irritated breath and turned her head in the direction of the man seated beside her. Her empty stomach _would_ make it so she had to ask him for something, and if she didn’t get that something soon it would start producing the most horrendous growling noises known to man.

“Mamoru…?” Tactfully, she decided on the use of his actual name rather than one of the many “pet” ones she had bestowed upon him over the years. He gave her a glance in acknowledgment before turning his eyes back to the road. “I need food, Mamoru. We have to stop somewhere.”

“Makoto said you get car sick.”

“Only if I don’t sit in the front.”

“So you’re definitely not going to blow chunks all over the dash if you eat?”

“Gross, and no.”

With a small smirk, Mamoru reached over her legs and opened the glove box, retrieving a brown bakery bag before dumping it in her lap. “Fine, but if you do you will be forever known from this day forth as chucky… and you _will_ be detailing my car.”

He snapped the glove box shut and returned his hand to the steering wheel as Usagi rolled her eyes. Momentary annoyance over she peeked into the bag to see what it held and yum! A freshly baked bagel, already cut, along with a small pack of cream cheese and a plastic knife to spread it on with. So prepared—god he was such a geek. Begrudgingly she admitted that his meticulous tendencies, which were usually super irritating, for once weren’t so bad. Just a tiny bit not so bad.

 

* * *

 

Usagi took it all back, his meticulous tendencies were the most annoying thing in the world! An hour! It had been an hour since they had found a suitable clearing to camp in and had started erecting their tents which they were still pissing around with because according to Mamoru, “there is no way those things will still be standing if the wind gets up during the night.” Killer of fun on all occasions, seriously.

Makoto had become antsy within the first twenty minutes, desperate to be off and away somewhere alone with Motoki and by her own good graces, Usagi and assured them that she could handle the tents if they wanted to head out on the walking trail that she had absolutely no interest in joining them on. Surprisingly, and inconveniently, Mamoru and opted to stay behind and help and now he was driving her crazy.

This was now the third time she had hammered this particular peg—the very last damn peg!—into the ground and finally, Mamoru gave her a nod of approval. “See, was that so hard?” he asked with one of his superior smirks that always made Usagi grind her teeth together. Such. A. Jerk. She flipped him her middle finger from where she crouched before turning to face him with one of her scathing stares, all ready to lash out and give him what he deserved but stopped short, her mouth agape as she watched him quite blatantly follow the curve of her backside with his eyes. What the hell? That was so wrong on so many levels.

“Mamoru?!” It was a screech, shrill and deafening and Mamoru cringed as he met her eyes. “What? Jesus, how do your vocal cords cope with that shit?”

Twirling her body around as she stood and threateningly tapping the mallet she still held into the palm of her hand, Usagi rolled her eyes and glared at him. “They cope just fine, thank you. Anyway, you were checking out my butt,” she accused.

His eyebrows shot up questioningly, his face scrunched in thought. What, he really had to think about it? Such a pig, he didn’t even know when he was or wasn’t being a complete pervert. “Don’t do it again!”

Mamoru laughed, something deep and hearty that rose up from depths of his chest. “Like I’d want to intentionally check you out. So really, don’t be so concerned. It will not be happening again.”

A-huh! So he admitted it! He was perving. Mamoru the stiff was a big ole pervert and hey… wait a minute, what does he mean by intentionally? What, so she wasn’t attractive enough for him to look at her on purpose? What an absolute ass!

“You’re such a jerk with all that intentionally crap.” Usagi stuck her tongue out at him, her immaturity winning the day again. She really needed to come up with some better ways to insult him. No way could she keep pulling the same lame stuff on him that she did when she was fourteen.

“So let me get this straight, you were offended with the initial incident of me… perusing your form, and now you’re offended because it wasn’t intentional? Make up your mind with which way you want to go about this.”

Oh, that was it. He always did this; twisted her words around to suit his purpose and to make her look like she made absolutely no sense at all. Well she was over it and ready to give him a piece of her mind!

“Come on guys, you’re going to scare the wildlife.” Motoki, with a lopsided grin plastered on his face, made his way into the clearing with Makoto trailing behind him. “Can’t we all play nice, just this once?”

Usagi glanced at Makoto who had remained silent but was pleading her petite blonde friend with those annoyingly big eyes. Bleh, fine. This weekend is for her, after all. “Sure thing, Motoki! Sweet as pie, I promise.” Well, she was going to try.

“I don’t know what pie she’s referring to, but it isn’t anything that’s sweet. More tart.” Grumbled words from that jerks mouth that were just loud enough for her to hear had Usagi’s hands balled into fists and her teeth grinding together. Crap, she wasn’t sure if this was going to be a promise she could keep.


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter is a little shorter but slowly getting there. ;)

So, it was decided; Usagi deserved a damn medal for her behaviour throughout the day. Not once since she’d promised Motoki that she’d be nice had she made a single scathing comment towards Mamoru. She’d bit her tongue—hard—on countless occasions, but she’d managed, even with him taking every opportunity to invade her personal space.

Mamoru, for the most part, had kept his big fat mouth shut as well but suddenly it seemed like he was everywhere! When they’d all sat down for lunch—Makoto packed the most amazing sushi ever!—he’d sat beside her. When Usagi had helped herself to seconds, he’d blatantly raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head. Even without him speaking she could hear his stupid voice inside her mind, “want to share that around, piggy?”

When they’d decided on going swimming and she had wanted to slowly edge herself into the water, Mamoru had flung himself around her waist and tackled her in. She’d broken through the surface spluttering while he’d broken through laughing, smiling smugly as he flicked hair from his eyes. It took all of Usagi’s control not to lash out him, and when he had murmured something about a “wet dog” she had sucked on the inside of her cheeks, her nostrils flaring with rage, yet she didn’t say a single thing.

Now, with evening setting in and Motoki grilling hamburger patties for dinner, Usagi found herself beyond tense. Mamoru was sitting beside her—again!—and she really was trying her very best to ignore him as she sprayed herself liberally with insect repellent, but he kept tugging on her hair every few seconds and she felt like she was going to explode if he didn’t just leave her alone and that was it! She couldn’t handle this anymore!

“Jesus, Mamoru you freak! _Stop touching me_!”

Motoki’s shoulders visible slumped at the blondes shriek and Makoto sat back on her heels, her hand stilling from where she poked at the camp fire with a stick and a breath held in her throat.

“You know, some of us would like to be breathing air… and not set on fire from all that shit you’re spraying around right next to an open flame. How clueless can you be?” Mamoru drawled.

Usagi growled, slammed the cap down on her can of repellent and chucked it in the direction of her tent before turning towards him with an extended finger and poking him firmly in the chest. “Oh, so that was reason enough to sit there tugging on my hair for the last minute?”

“Well, I would have said something but you _have_ been ignoring me for most of the day like a snot nosed little brat.”

“And why do you think that is, huh? I’ll tell you why! Because you are some weirdo that can’t even talk to me without being a complete jackass! All day, Mamoru—all day you have been trying to get under my skin and I tried so hard to not let it get to me but you just couldn’t leave me be, could you?! You have serious problems, you know that?!”

Usagi sucked in a breath after her outburst, everyone and everything silent around her including Mamoru—to her disbelief—and with a quick glance around, she noted that they were all staring at her. Motoki with a troubled frown set on his face, Makoto with her teeth digging in to her bottom lip and Mamoru with his blue eyes blown wide in surprise.

“What are you all staring at?” Really, it couldn’t be that much of a surprise that she finally let loose on that jerk. How many times have they witnessed a scene like this before? Countless times! So why the hell were they all staring at her like that?

With a huff of her breath, Usagi lifted her hand to swipe away some strands of hair that had stuck to her cheek and… oh. Her cheek was damp? She wiped at it, almost furiously. She had cried?! Ugh, how could this be any more embarrassing? Now she looked like a damn baby and it had been a good two years since she had shed tears over Mamoru’s behaviour towards her. Why had she cried? She hadn’t felt like crying. It must be a total fluke because there is no way that she was still that little girl that cried over every single thing. She had progressed beyond that, she had matured—kind of—but they were still staring and Usagi could feel her cheeks becoming hot beneath their gazes.

She stood, back straight and shoulders stiff and Mamoru lent forward in his foldout chair, hand raised and floundering in the air before he dropped it back to his thigh. “Usagi, I…”

Usagi cut him off before he could continue and while pulling air through her nose in an attempt to reign in her slight mortification, she begun to back away from the three gawking goons before her. “I need a break. You and I—” she gestured between herself and Mamoru with a wave of her hand “—can’t be around each other for this long. It’s not healthy.”

 

* * *

 

As soon as Usagi had departed the camp, Mamoru felt Motoki and Makoto’s eyes turn towards him. “What?” He had tried to ask innocently but his voice was tight and he sounded more defensive than anything else. Okay, so maybe the fact that Usagi had cried—just a few tears, mind you. It’s not like it was a full on torrent—had gotten to him. There was no way, despite all his ribbing, that he wanted to truly upset the little dweeb. This is what they did, what they have _always_ done and what the hell had gotten into her, anyway? Overreaction—she’s always been one for the dramatics.

Makoto folded her arms across her chest and gave him a stern look, something reminiscent of a look that a mother would give a child when they were misbehaving and knew that such behaviour wasn’t acceptable. Jesus, was he about to get the third degree because that airhead was a damn drama queen?

“Well… are you going to go after her or what?” Ugh, Makoto even had the same tone as an angry parent.

“And why should I? We all know that within ten minutes she will be over this and back to being her usual pain in the ass self and stuffing her face with burgers.” Jerky, but true. The girls rebound rate after one of their arguments was phenomenal.

The lithe brunette stood, her hands going to rest at her hips and a scowl settling over her face. “You _will_ go after her, Chiba. You will apologise and you will bring her back to camp because there is barely any light left and the last thing I want is for her to get lost out there.”

Mamoru turned to Motoki for some back up only to receive the exact same scowl he was getting from Makoto. Ah, whatever. Fine, he’d go get her. How typical. He teases Usagi a little, she throws a shit fit and he is the bad guy! With a stomp to his step and a frown on his face, Mamoru headed to the tent he was sharing with Motoki and grabbed a jersey and with some minor hesitation, grabbed a second one for the blonde bimbo. A peace offering? Hey, I’m an asshole and you’re a brat but here is a jersey so you’re not cold. Yeah, sure, that would work. That was _how_ they worked.

He shucked one the jerseys over his head, pulled it down his torso and with one last squinting look at his friends, headed out to grovel at the feet of someone who was quite possibly the bane of his existence.

Mamoru followed the path he had seen Usagi take, surely she was smart enough not to leave it, right? Of course she was. She might lack common sense some of the time and she was extremely lazy when it came to her education but he never thought of her as truly stupid, no matter how often he told her she was. She just lacked proper direction—in most things, except for where the closest food court was. She could find that shit blindfolded. She also lacked coordination skills, always the klutz.  

Shoving his free hand into a pocket of his jeans, Mamoru could admit a tiny, very miniscule amount of worry. Lack of direction and lack of coordination—what were the chances that Usagi was already lost and lying in a ditch somewhere… dead? He cleared his throat. “Usagi?!” With strained ears he listened for a response and got zilch, not even the crunch of leaves beneath someone’s feet or a broken stick.

“Usagi, come on! The light is fading fast and it’s going to start getting cold!” Mamoru huffed, annoyed. “I’m sorry, okay?!”

Stubborn little mule! He continued walking along the path, his eyes alternating between searching from his left to his right. “Usagi, please. I know you couldn’t have gone too far, not with dinner so close to being ready,” he mumbled to himself and his stomach grumbled at the thought of food.

Quickening his pace and lengthening his strides, Mamoru felt the first tendrils of panic clutch at his chest. Okay, so she was annoying as hell, immature and bratty, but she also had a heart of gold, was nice to everyone except for him and even then she was never _that_ offensive towards him. She was more like a tick with her head burrowed beneath his skin—an irritation, a nuisance, but that didn’t mean he wanted any harm to come to her.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are… Usagi!” His yell held a nervous edge to it as he walked deeper into the bush which was getting thicker the further along the trail he went. “Would you stop being such a brat?!” Mamoru paused for a response then muttered, “I’m starting to worry, you little dweeb.”

“Daw, that’s so sweet.” Mamoru jumped while barely containing the most unmanly shout of surprise that may have ever passed from between his lips. Twirling around, he came face to face with Usagi and how the hell had she snuck up on him like that?

“Shit, Usagi! What are you, a fucking ninja?”

She smirked, took steps around him and started to stroll further up the trail and further away from where they were camped. “Not my fault you couldn’t hear me over the pounding of your distraught little heart.”

He followed her, frowning over the fact that she had heard what she really wasn’t supposed to hear. Now she was going to think he was getting soft. Well, he would put that crap to a stop immediately. Wrapping long fingers around her bicep—a tiny bicep, cool against his warm hand—he held her firmly in place. “Okay, Usagi, fun and games are over. We’re going back, _now_.”

She tilted her head to the side thoughtfully and purposefully, he was sure, then roughly pulled her arm from his grip before replying with a simple, “no.”

“Uh, yes. We have just enough light left to make it back.”

Usagi smiled sweetly at him, almost patronizingly sweet. “Listen, it was fun and all sneaking up on you and I will admit that it did kind of make me feel less… nauseated in your presence—” Mamoru rolled his eyes “—but I still just don’t really feel like being around you. So, shoo.”

His mouth popped open; was she crazy? Did she really think that he would just leave her out here… alone? He may have not of wanted to come after her in the first place but that was because he was stubborn, and he knew that. Now that he was out here there was no conceivable way that he would leave her to wonder around on her own.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you but if you’re out here, then I’m out here too.”

With a squint of her eyes and the tip of her tongue pocked out at him, Usagi huffed. “Fine, just don’t talk to me.”


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters are coming out a bit slower now, real life has been busy. But expect them every two to three days. Thanks to those who commented and hit the kudos button. You guys are great and it's always appreciated. :)

Okay, so it was time to be frank with herself—she’d lost the trail. How could she lose the trail?! Oh, maybe because it was dark and Usagi was picking her way through the bush by the hints of moonlight that filtered through the thickening clouds overhead. Or maybe it was because she’d spent however long thinking up insults to sling at ass-face instead of concentrating on where she was going. When it came down to it though, this was all Mamoru’s fault. Why hadn’t he forced her to go back like the boring, sensible guy he is? And why hadn’t he brought a torch?!

Usagi stopped abruptly, causing Mamoru to bump into her back. Geez, had he never heard of personal space? “Okay, time to go back now!” She turned to face him and she wasn’t entirely sure, but was he grinning at her? He was still probably feeling all smug about the fact that the only reason she was warm right now was because he had been considerate enough—ick, she hated putting Mamoru and considerate together—to bring along a jersey for her.

“Sure thing, Usagi.” Mamoru stepped to the side, creating enough room for her to pass him. “Lead the way.”

Crap. Lead the way where? She had no idea where the trail that she thought they had been following even was. “No, it’s cool. You like to be all superior and stuff, so you go.” Usagi pursed her lips, not quite succeeding in keeping a nervous quiver from her voice, but the last thing she wanted to do was admit to that jerk that she’d led them from the trail.

“Oh, but I insist,” he countered while wrapping his hand around her forearm and pulling her slightly forward.

Oh, so that was how he wanted to play it then, huh? Fine, there was only one thing left to do—out-muscle Mamoru, of course! With gritted teeth, Usagi planted both hands on his chest and shoved. “No, _I insist_.” He stumbled back a few steps and sweet satisfaction filled her. He may have a good head and a half on her in height but she was far stronger than she looked. She could totally take him!

Digging her feet into the ground, Usagi prepared to launch her next attack. Arms held firmly out in front of her body and bent at the elbow, she pushed them forward with all her strength… only for him to snag both of her wrists in his hands, efficiently halting her assault. Curse him and his lightning fast reflexes! He held her in place, gently yet securely, and closed the gap between them while tilting his head down to hers.

“You know, you’re really making a big deal out of who walks in front.” It wasn’t much more than a whisper in her ear, his voice soft and hinting at amusement and the whole thing just made her feel really weird. Stomach topsy-turvy kind of weird. Was it possible that being this close to Mamoru actually made her physically sick? Maybe she was allergic to him, it would explain a lot. Either way, she needed space so she squirmed her arms in his grasp. He held her tighter.

“Seriously, what is with you and being all up in my bubble today? Let. Me. Go.”

“I think there is something you need to tell me first.”

Usagi stilled. Hmmm, she was pretty sure there wasn’t. The plan was for Mamoru to take the lead and then when he finally realised that they weren’t on the trail she could blame him for it… because they definitely weren’t lost before that. “Nope, nothing.”

He went rigid, angry rigid? Then chuckled. “Would you just admit that you lead us off the trail? You didn’t even notice that it took a curve, you just kept walking straight.”

He knew?! Well of course he did, but he wasn’t supposed to know until she could pin it on him! Oh, wait—this was actually kind of perfect. Now it really was his doing. “What the hell, Mamoru? Why didn’t you say anything? This is all your fault!” Finally he took a step back and let go of her wrists. Usagi pulled them up to her chest, rubbing at the left one and then the right. Not that they hurt or anything, she just wanted to make him feel bad.

“Because I thought I’d teach you a lesson. You should have agreed to go back when I first said we should. But being the little brat that you are, you wouldn’t listen.”

Usagi’s eyes almost bulged, what kind of lesson was that? This sort of thing is exactly why she thought he was the biggest jerk to ever exist. Now they were lost, she had missed dinner and she was super hungry and just ugh! She knew this weekend was going to be the worst and it is!

“Mamoru, this isn’t my usual insult, but you’re an idiot. I’m also really angry at you right now.”

“Oh, relax. We’ve pretty much gone straight the entire time and we haven’t been walking for that long since you missed the curve. The bush isn’t overly thick, so we just head this way.” He pointed in the direction where she had shoved him. Well, it did kind of make sense. Surely he wouldn’t have let them get lost-lost. It was still a real dick move though.

With a sigh and a glare that Mamoru wouldn’t even be able to see, Usagi decided to be the bigger person and forgive him for one of the most stupid plans ever. “I’m still not leading.”

“Damn right you’re not. I would actually like to make it back to camp.”

 

* * *

 

“How long has it been now?” Makoto was pacing. Usagi had been right, this had all been a horrible idea. How could she have been naive enough to think that those two would be able to get along for once?

“About… forty minutes, I think. Do you think they’ve killed each other?” It was said lightly by who she could only describe as the dreamiest guy in the entire world. Realistically, they both knew that Usagi and Mamoru’s fights would never go past shit slinging, but it was really sweet how Motoki was trying to calm her down with humour. He was just as worried as she was, though better at downplaying it. So the least she could do was return the favour, right?

“Or maybe they’ve finally… you know—figured out another way to work through their aggression?” She threw a cheeky grin at him from over her shoulder and Motoki visibly shuddered.

“No—no! Don’t put that image in my head. Usagi is like a little sister to me. I don’t even want to think about _that_.”

Makoto chuckled, he was just too adorable. Seriously though, where were they? Night had settled in within ten minutes of Mamoru leaving and yes, she could imagine that Usagi would have been difficult when he finally caught up to her, but he did kind of have a way of getting Usagi to do something without her actually realising it. Manipulative bastard.

“Do you think they got lost?”

Motoki mulled her question over for a bit and even though she was becoming rather worried about her friend—friend, as in singular. Sometimes, Mamoru could just go and stuff it—she took his distraction as an opportunity to plonk herself down at his feet and rest her shoulder against his leg.

“I really don’t know. Mamoru is the most straight and narrow guy I know. I still think he’s going to bring her back safe and sound.” He was trying so hard to sound reassuring, but his anxiety over the situation showed when he chomped on his bottom lip after speaking.

Poor guy, it was enough for Makoto’s mouth to dip down at the corners. She just wanted to hug him! Unfortunately, her romantic plans were going to have to be put on hold. She liked Motoki—like really, really, really liked him—but there was just no way that she’d ever put him before one of her friends.

Her mind made up, Makoto bounced up from the ground and grasping one of Motoki’s hands in her own, yanked him up from his seat. He winced a little while taking two unsteady steps forward. “Jesus, you’re strong.”

She grinned. “I work out. Now grab a torch, were going to go find us some silly little rabbits.”

He hesitated somewhat before heading to his tent to grab what they needed with a frown etched into his brow. What was up with that? Was it possible that he was enjoying their alone time together, that he could be torn between either finding Mamoru and Usagi or staying here where it was just the two of them?

“Hey, listen—I want to find out what’s happened to those two as much as you do, but we have to be sensible about this. We stick together, no separating whatsoever. We stay on the trail, it will do none of us any good if all four of us get lost. And lastly, it’s gotten pretty overcast and I think it’s going to start raining soon—if conditions get too bad then we come back to camp.” He handed Makoto a torch.

Okay, so scratch what she had thought about him enjoying their alone time, but who cares?! Motoki taking charge was totally hot! Makoto switched on her torch and eagerly linked her arm through his—well, he did say not to separate—before making their way to the edge of the clearing… where there were two trails about eight feet apart from each other.

“So which one do we take?” Such a simple question really… _when_ you weren’t about to embark on a possible search and rescue mission.

Makoto grunted, in amusement or annoyance she wasn’t quite sure. But that was until she felt the first spots of rain hit her face. Yep, definitely annoyance. “Uh, left?”

“You sure?”

Nope! “It’s already starting to spit, we have to make a decision.” Make the decision, Motoki! She really didn’t want it to be left up to her. Hmmm, left up to her? It was a sign. “Definitely left.”

With a quick glance up at the sky, Motoki nodded his head. “Okay, left it is then. I thought you said we were in for sun all weekend?”

Makoto chuckled nervously; she had said that, hadn’t she? It’s not like she was going to let a little rain interfere with her plans for the weekend! “You know those forecasts, finicky things. They can’t always get it right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think it is pretty predictable where things are heading. But eh, I'm still having fun writing something that isn't serious. I've decided to turn this into a bit of a series which means no sexy times in this installment and the rating will be taken down to T, but the ratings will go up as the series progresses so sexy times in the near future!


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gets slightly more serious than the others. Everyone is feeling kind of crappy and it can't all be laughs. :p

Relax, he said, we just need to go this way. Yeah right! He was just as lost as she was and like her, wouldn’t admit it! Usagi huffed, eyeing Mamoru from the corner of her eye. What were they going to do? It had started to rain even though Makoto had told her that they were in for good weather the entire weekend—stupid forecasts—and now they were huddled under a tree while waiting for it to die out. Mamoru had been stoically silent ever since the rain had set in which irritated her, he should be profusely apologising at this point, begging for her forgiveness. It was the least he could do after getting them into this mess.

Her nerves were frayed, the wind howled through the bush like a starving animal and Usagi found herself edging closer to Mamoru every so often. So she was a little scared. She wasn’t going to tell him that because she was sure he would laugh in her face and mock her for being a baby but still, as annoying as it was to accept, his presence was the tinniest bit reassuring.

“I didn’t think you liked me being in your personal space?” Usagi jumped and found herself bumping against him. When had she moved that close? Mamoru had his head turned towards her and tilted down enough for her to feel some of his damp hair brush against her forehead.

“Are you afraid?”

Obviously! “No.” She sniffed stubbornly then countered with, “are _you_ afraid?”

“No. A little worried, I guess…” he trailed off. “And I might be feeling a smidgeon of guilt.” Hah! So he should be feeling guilty, the big jerk! “Good. I’m glad you’re taking responsibility for our situation.”

He laughed quietly, amused, and then nudged her lightly with his elbow before relaxing against the tree. “I’m a grown man, Usagi, so yes, I do take accountability for _my_ screw ups. Are you going to do the same?”

Pfft, no. The rain picked up along with the wind and lightning streaked across the sky seconds before thunder boomed in her ears. Oh lord, well if Mother Nature was going to get her panties in a twist then fine! She will admit that she played a small—very small—part in all of this. It wasn’t entirely his fault.

Usagi pushed back against the tree and huddled closer to Mamoru with a sigh. “I suppose that some of the blame is mine,” she mumbled.

“Well done, Usagi,” he drawled. “You might actually be growing up a bit.” That had her smouldering some because even when they were being kind of civil to one another, he still felt the need to say something about her that toed the line at being condescending.

She was about to let loose a well-deserved tirade on his ass, but ended up shutting her mouth when Mamoru pulled off his jersey and handed it to her. “Roll it up and put it under your one. The rain is getting heavier and we aren’t going to stay sheltered under here for much longer, it’s already starting to come through the branches. We passed something like a cave not too long ago. We’d be better off in there.”

Usagi did as she was told—for once—and tucked his jersey beneath the one she was wearing. But wouldn’t he get cold? God, look at what being stuck out here was doing to her—she was actually showing concern for the dolt. Plus, was this such a good idea? They’d completely failed at finding their way back to the trail and now he wanted to scamper off to find a cave? She pressed herself even closer to the tree like it was vital to her survival, her heart beating nervously at the prospect of getting even more lost than they already were.

“You’re going to get soaked.”

“I’ll be fine.” She could hear the smile in his voice and why did that have some form of a calming effect on her? She needed to find civilization, the sooner the better, before she went completely mental.

“We need at least one item of clothing that will keep us reasonably warm once we find better shelter.” And then suddenly his much larger hand had wrapped around her own and he was urging her away from the tree with a gentle tug.

 

* * *

 

Usagi had slipped numerous times. Her jeans were smeared with mud, wet leaves stuck to her clothing and she probably looked a mess, but they had found it! Something had actually gone right. Adrenaline buzzed through her system—she almost felt hypersensitive, her whole arm tingling whenever Mamoru would snag her hand with his own to haul her up. He had been determined, darting from large tree to large tree to keep them as dry as possible.

He was drenched, his t-shirt saturated and sticking to him like a second skin with hair plastered to his face.  When she had meet him, on that unfortunate day nearly four years ago, she’d had hearts in her young foolish eyes. Well, that was until he opened up his big fat arrogant mouth and spoke. Then those hearts were replaced with daggers and she’d wanted to smack him upside the head ever since. But seeing him like this, so unpolished and in complete disarray—it made her stomach go topsy-turvy weird again.

“Usagi?!” Jesus, did he have to yell right in her ear?

“What?!” So it wasn’t necessary to yell back but she would always give him as good as he gives.

“You spaced out. Last dash, okay? There’s a creek that we’re going to have to jump but I don’t think it’s too wide.”

Jump a creek? Nooooo. No, no, no. She was a sprinter—not by choice, it’s part and parcel with sleeping in all the time and not owning a car—she was most definitely _not_ a jumper. But before she could even object, good ole Mamoru was off in a dead sprint and he was tugging her along with him, their arms stretched out between their bodies before he let her hand go to make the jump. Usagi stalled, just for a second, before leaping. Her breath caught in her throat and shit! Not too wide her ass—there was no way she was going to make this! She was going to flop face first onto the creeks bank and Mamoru would _never_ let her forget it.

And then he was there, right in Usagi’s damn landing zone and why was that idiot not getting out of her way?! The tip of her foot snagged on something, propelling her forward even more until she barrelled right into him. Mamoru fell flat on his back, his arms wrapping around her as she landed in a heap on top of him, her breath expelling from her body in a heavy huff. Ouch! It wasn’t even like he was all nice and soft to cushion her fall. The sodden ground would have been more forgiving.

“Shit, are you okay? Are you hurt?” Wow, he actually sounded kind of concerned. Not that it mattered! He should have asked her if she was good with jumping the stupid creek in the first place. Jerk, arrogant ass… oh, no. The Jersey!

Usagi shifted against him slightly and removed her face from his chest before flattening her cheek against it. “Mamoru,” she bemoaned, “the jersey.”

She could hear his heart beating, almost hammering in her ear. She shifted again, still trying to regain her bearings only for him to let out a hiss near her ear.

“You have to get off me.” It came out demanding and bordering on being rude. It’s not like she planned on laying down here on top of him all night! And it was his fault she had even landed on him—what was he, blind? Well, now that he was being a grouch about it all she was just going to have to take her time in getting up. “Huh?” She wiggled in a poor attempt to remove herself from him.

“Just get off me!” Fine! There was no need to go all postal. Freak.

Pushing herself to her knees, Usagi crawled off of him, one hand automatically going to her stomach to find—miraculously—that the Jersey Mamoru had told her to roll up beneath her own was still there. She kneeled at his feet, the branches above her keeping her sheltered from most of the rain, and gave the dark haired man a hard stare. “What, exactly, is your problem?”

Mamoru pushed himself up to stand, towering above her with one long finger pointed in her face. “My problem is you. Jesus, can’t you do anything right? Do you even care or are you just content with failing at _everything_? You’re lazy, loud, obnoxious and completely airheaded—the most irritating girl I have ever crossed paths with!”

Where the fuck had that come from? That actually… that hurt. In all the years that she had known Mamoru, Usagi could not recall a time where he had spoken so heatedly towards her, so… hatefully. She could feel the tears starting to gather, her eyes beginning to burn when she refused to let them fall. There was no way in hell that she was going to cry a single damn tear over him. He was so far from beyond worth it.

Usagi stood, stiffly, brushing past him silently and stumbling a bit when she felt his stance falter as their arms connected for that brief second. Her chest heaved with her rapid breathing. She just wanted to get her shit under control, she didn’t want him to know how much of an effect his words had on her. And why had they? It’s not like they had ever really liked each other. They fought, ignored then fought some more.

“Usagi.” She paused at hearing her name. His voice sounded broken, heavy with regret and something inside of her wanted desperately to tell him it was cool, just apologise and it would be okay. That small part of her hated hearing him sound so remorseful. But the other side of her that was wounded, the side of her that if she took the time analyse more closely, would help her to realise that the last thing she wanted was for Mamoru to think so poorly of her, reared its head.

No. She was not going to let him think that he could simply say sorry and everything that he said would cease to exist. “Mamoru. Just… just fuck off.”

 

* * *

 

Motoki had trudged back to camp with Makoto defeated, their shoulders slumped and their bodies shivering sporadically. She was quiet, her arm that was linked through his own limp. He saw the concern stamped on her face, their failure at being able to locate Usagi and Mamoru gnawing away at her. He had tried to reassure her, to tell her that it was just for one night and that they would be fine, that Mamoru would take care of Usagi and he’d keep her safe. They’d find them tomorrow—he’d _promised_ that they’d find them as soon as daybreak hit. She replied with few words and weak smiles.

He wasn’t used to this—he was accustomed to lively green eyes, generous smiles and a brown ponytail bouncing with enthusiastic steps. And well, he disliked seeing her like this. He would admit to a soft spot for her; her determination when flirting with him was flattering, but he had never thought of her becoming more to him than what she already was. There was a spark there now, though, as a hundred different ideas on how to see her grin flitted through his head and when they came to a stop at Makoto’s tent, he comprehended that the last thing that he wanted to do was leave her to spend the night alone.

Motoki stood awkwardly, hand grasped around his torch in a death grip. All he needed to do was speak up, now, before he lost his nerve. “I’m just going to get something dry on and then I will be back.”

She perked up a little and then sagged. He understood, he felt it to; it didn’t feel right to take the slightest bit of enjoyment in anything when Usagi and Mamoru were lost. Makoto nodded her head before unzipping her tent, pulling the flap aside and stepping in.

 

* * *

 

Even though she was expecting him, Makoto startled when Motoki’s head popped through the entrance of the tent. He smiled at her tiredly and she was at a loss. All she wanted to do was snuggle up to him and make herself feel better but it just felt so wrong. If it wasn’t for Usagi not being here, there was no way he would have ended up in her tent. It was like she was benefitting from her friends shitty situation. Oh, god—if Usagi was hurt and needing her and she was here safe and getting her wish to finally be making progress with Motoki… she wasn’t sure if she could forgive herself. She couldn’t do this. They would sleep and in the morning they would go back out and search. Makoto knew that it was the right thing, for her own conscience and for her friend.

Motoki laid down beside her, the sleeping bag that was supposed to be for Usagi rustling as he wiggled his way into it. She rolled over to face him and again he gave her that exhausted smile. “Daybreak, and then we’re out looking for them again.” He repeated what he had already promised her and she warmed a little at his constant assurance.

What about if the two of them looking wasn’t enough though? If there was more of them then they could spread out and cover more ground. With a sigh she knew she was about to suggest something that went against the code of conduct that stood with herself and her friends: never get parents involved unless the situation was absolutely dire. But this was possibly a dire situation.

“I think we should call Usagi’s parents first thing. They can come help.”

He looked a little weary but nodded his head, “Yeah, sure. If that’s what you want. Mamoru’s keys are in the other tent. I think it’s only about a fifteen minute drive until we get cell phone coverage. So, if we set an alarm for half five then we will be back by the time the sun rises.”

Makoto smiled, her first real smile since they had set out to search for their friends. “Thank you, Motoki.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was a bit hesitant in having Mamoru being too harsh, but his outburst will be explained in the next chapter. Though don't expect Usagi to just forgive and forget. They boy is going to have to work for it!. Hope you're still enjoying and thanks again for taking the time to comment and hitting the kudos button. ;)


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will most likely be wrapped up in the next couple of chapters and then I will be starting on the second part. Thanks again for leaving comments and kudos. It's appreciated! ;)

He was an asshole. There was no other word adequate enough to describe how Mamoru was feeling about himself at the moment. He followed Usagi silently, almost hesitantly, into what turned out to be the opening of an old mining shaft that’d been dug into a hillside. He’d pressed on the support beams as they’d entered, checking the stability of the structure that could be god knows how old, and lost sight of her silhouette as she travelled further than him into the darkness. He wanted to call her back, the entrance seemed safe enough but he had no idea how secure it was further in, but his words seemed to catch in his throat that grew tight and achy with his guilt.

Usagi saved him the trouble, the shifting of loose rubble sounding clearly in his ears as she got closer to where he’d been lingering. Mamoru’s gut clenched, knowing that he would need to say something soon. He’d told her that he took ownership of his mistakes and he planned on doing that; he just didn’t know what to tell her when he didn’t want to accept it himself.

He could start with the truth; he’d panicked. For one, Mamoru had been scared that she’d been hurt and if she was it would have been his fault. He abhorred the idea of her being in any real pain and that he’d been the cause of it. But there she was, all soft curves pressed into him and her heavy breathing making her breasts heave against his chest. She’d smelt like dirt, but beneath that there was still the lingering scent of sweetness; something warm and inviting that filled his nostrils and made his head spin. And then he’d felt it as she moved against him, right in the pit of his stomach—arousal, sending a small but very pleasant prickle throughout his body.

That wasn’t supposed to happen, not for her, not for the girl that he’d watched grow up before him. And he _had_ watched her grow. He was a guy! And he wasn’t dead. There was no way that he wasn’t going to notice the diminishment of her waist, widening of her hips and her bust filling out. Especially not after the summer when she’d turned sixteen and suddenly had a predilection for short skirts and loose cotton singlets that became rather close to being transparent when she stood in the sun. She’d worked in the arcade that summer, Mamoru had lost count of the times he’d sent a warning glare at other males when they’d been ogling Usagi as she’d lent over to wipe down tables.

Despite all the bickering, the jabs and low blows that they’d thrown at each other over the years, Mamoru was protective of her. Usagi was all innocents and naivety, and far too trusting for her own good. He just never once had the notion that he’d have to protect her from himself. And tonight proved it, when it came down to it, he’d hurt her and he didn’t know if he had it in him to swallow his pride and make it right. He never had before, not with other women he’d had relationships with even though they’d been few and far between. They all got tired of him at some point, broke it off when they understood that they’d never be able to make it past all the aloofness he threw back at them in exchange for their affection.

Usagi had though… Mamoru slid down the curved dirt wall and almost laughed. Holy shit. That little nitwit had chipped away at every barrier he had and he never even knew it. How had she done that? It wasn’t even like she’d been trying, yet other than Motoki, she was the one true constant he had in his life. She knew nearly everything about him that by rule he generally kept to himself. She may have come to find these things out in a roundabout way but he had still opened up to her.

Mamoru did laugh this time, a short bitter bark that bounced off the walls and reverberated down the shaft.  He cared; about her, about her opinion. He liked her; faults and all, because that was who she was and he wouldn’t change a thing. She made him laugh, genuinely laugh and smile at her antics. When he was around her he almost felt carefree and light, no one else had ever done that for him—he’d never let anyone else close enough to have that influence on him. He was used to solitude, had been alone for long enough to accept that that was his life and took no action to change it. But she was familiar now, comfortable, and that loneliness that was always yanking at his insides went away when she was there. He was just too stubborn to admit it until now.

With his head tilted in Usagi’s direction, Mamoru caught the chattering of teeth. He’d spent so much time trying to figure out his own jumbled thoughts that he hadn’t noticed her discomfort nor his own drop in temperature—the chill of their damp clothes was starting to set in. He stretched his legs out, unintentionally tapping one of Usagi’s with his foot and he instantly felt her pull away. It stung a little, almost like a rejection but he understood. He knew that there was going to have to be a lot of work on his part before she forgave him, before he could convince her that they could actually be friends—it was a start, at least—but first, he needed to get her warm. His usual smirk didn’t have as much lift to it, but he was smiling. He knew it was going to turn into another disagreement.

 

* * *

 

“Usagi?”

She rolled her eyes; what part of “fuck off” did he not understand? Of course she didn’t actually mean for him to go away. Not when it was dark and storming outside. She wasn’t heartless, but still, she didn’t want to hear his stupid voice either.

“You’re cold,” Mamoru stated. Yes, yes she was. With her arms currently wrapped around herself, all she was succeeding in doing was making her relatively dry t-shirt beneath her jersey damp. She was at the point where she couldn’t control the clanking of her teeth and her jeans stuck to her in the most uncomfortable way. In her anger, Usagi had dumped the only thing that would keep her warm on the ground. To hell if she was going to give Mamoru the satisfaction of being all chivalrous by wearing the dry jersey instead of him. She’d rather stay cold. Plus, he probably needed it more than her… Usagi frowned. No! She was not going to care about whether he was cold or not!

“You should swap your jersey for the other one.”

Guh! “How do you not get that I’m ignoring you?!” It was snappish and she was close to wanting to sock him in the shoulder with her fist.

“I get it, Usagi. I just don’t want you being cold.” Oh, please. “Like you even give a shit,” she grumbled. He snorted in what sounded like amusement. Glad to know that he was finding this all so extremely entertaining! Usagi bristled. “I’m not wearing your stupid jersey!” She picked it up and hurled it in the direction of his voice.

“Fine. But I’m not letting you sit there to freeze your ass off.” Like he had a choice.

Usagi heard him shuffle a little, then the wet slap of something being flung onto the hard ground. What was he doing?

“Come here.” 

“No way am I coming anywhere near you!”

“Please?” God, she could feel herself starting to cave. Why was it so hard to stay mad at him? Even when he had actually hurt her feelings for once? She had shit resolve that was for sure. It would be so easy for Usagi to just let it go, she kind of wanted to at this point. She was tired, cold and hungry and had zero energy to argue with him. But she wanted an apology first; a real one. Not a half-hearted attempt at one.

“Usagi, come here or I _will_ take drastic measures to get you warm.”

Threatening? Yeah, she doubted an apology would be coming anytime soon. “Leave me alone, Mamoru.” Usagi curled her fingers tighter around her arms and pushed her back into the wall of earth behind her. Nope, she wasn’t going anywhere. She was fine right here with wet clothes and she didn’t need him! But he was persistent and she yelped when she felt strong fingers wrap around her ankles and give her a rough tug forward. She kicked out blindly, ready to scream until her lungs were raw.

“Jesus, would you stop? Just come here!” He tugged again, pulling her closer. “No, you stop! You can’t just manhandle me like this!” Usagi gave up on clinging to herself and instead flipped onto her stomach, stretched her arms out and tried to find something to hold onto. If she had to she would slither her way back to her wall on her belly. Realistically, all she succeeded in doing was making it easier for Mamoru to pull her closer and within seconds he had hauled her up into a sitting position between his thighs where he promptly wrapped his legs around her hips and his arms around her chest, effectively pinning her own arms to her sides.

Well, shit. But she refused to give up! Usagi began to struggle against him, knowing it was futile. He had the greater weight, the greater height and she was so worn out! With a heavy huff she slumped against his front. God damn jerk!

“Well, this is cosy.”

“Oh, screw you.” She huffed again, frustrated in her predicament but knowing no way out of it. “This isn’t even a cave, you were wrong.” She was being petulant now, taking a jab about something even though she knew it wouldn’t offend him.

“Yes, I was wrong.” Why was he being so agreeable? Well, it was a bit late for that!

“And I might be lazy but I’m not as lazy as you think I am. Have you ever thought that there might be a reason for my constant want to sleep? Have you ever even bothered to ask? Nope. You just make assumptions because you think that you’re better than everyone else. What about if I have some kind of disease or something?” She didn’t, she was being hypothetical, but getting this off of her chest was starting to make her feel better. Usagi relaxed against Mamoru, wiggled her bum against the ground to get more comfortable and prepared for her ongoing rant by taking a deep breath.

“Also, I’m seventeen, and a girl. We get loud sometimes, we grow out of it so get over it.” That wasn’t her only reason for being loud around him. He was so much smarter than her, most of the time she felt like the only way to win one of their verbal wars was to be much louder than he was because god knew she didn’t have his extensive vocabulary. 

“Usagi, I—”

“And there are plenty of things I do right!”

“Usagi, would you please—”

“I’m really good at video games, above average, and I’m quite an avid reader—” so long as it was comics “—and obnoxious? Really, if you feel that way then that is your problem, not mine. Hate me all you want, you big jerk, but I like who I am so—” she blew a raspberry only to have Mamoru slap his hand over her mouth.

Usagi could feel his warm breath breeze over her cheek as he lowered his face down to hers. “You also _never_ stop talking.” He sighed and she considered trying to bite at his fingers, but thought better of it. She didn’t like the idea of purposely resorting to physical violence, even if he sometimes deserved it.

“Listen, you don’t have to justify yourself to me, okay? What I said was out of line, and mean. You’re… fine, Usagi, just the way you are and I want to apologise. I _am_ sorry and it won’t happen again.” Well, it was good of him to apologise—he did sound quite sincere— and it was a start but now what were they going to talk about? She knew that there was no way she'd stay quiet for long. Still feeling somewhat childish, she latched onto the only thing in his apology that she could pick at.

“Just ‘fine’?” she queried and he laughed lightly. “There is room for improvement, as there is with anybody, including myself.” She nodded; that was accurate, there was plenty of room for him to improve, a whole apartment buildings worth of rooms.

“Well, you could be nicer,” she suggested. His arms loosened slightly from around her, allowing Usagi to pull her arms free and flick annoying strands of hair from her eyes as his legs finally fell to rest along the outside of hers.

“That’s true. How about I start now? Are you warmer?” Oh—she kind of was. Usagi nodded and he picked at the jersey near her hip. “You should take this off.”

It made since, besides her jeans it was her wettest item of clothing. Plus body heat and all that. She tugged the jersey up her body, elbowing Mamoru in the face along the way while goose bumps erupted over her arms as the chill hit her. She felt a small sense of satisfaction—now that was what she truly needed to feel better!—as he let out a grunt that sounded like a mixture of exasperation and amusement. “Oops, sorry!” 

“It’s… fine. Don’t worry about it.” He sounded strained, like it had taken a lot of effort for him not to explode at her for being a klutz. Instead, his hands—surprisingly warm hands—curled around the top of her arms and started to rub down to her wrists then back up again. Wow, he was really going the full hog with this being nice thing, wasn’t he?

“So, does this mean you don’t hate me anymore?” She supposed she could be accused of sounding hopeful, but who could blame her? Being hated by anyone wasn’t exactly ideal.

“I never hated you, Usagi. Do you want to know what I think?” She smiled a little; even if she didn’t want to know what he thought she was pretty sure he’d tell her anyway. For once, though, she actually found herself _wanting_ to know what his opinion was. “Sure, shoot.”

“I think that we’ve known each other for a long time without actually _knowing_ each other.”

Usagi frowned, what did he mean? She knew all about him. He was a complete nerd, liked to act like he was all superior… she even knew how he took his damn coffee! “I don’t get it.”

He relaxed behind her, shifting his weight a little and resulting in her reclining against him even more than she had been. “Okay, for example: do you have a disease that makes you tired?” Usagi felt his chest rumble against her back. He was laughing! And he knew she didn’t—now he was just teasing.

“Of course I don’t.”

“So, is there a reason as to why you’re constantly late because you can’t get your butt out of bed on time?”

“Hey! I wasn’t late this morning but yes, there is. One: beds are comfortable and warm and two: just because _you’re_ awesome when it comes to school it doesn’t mean everyone else is, even when they try really hard. Some of us have to study for hours longer than people like you, and when you’re up until the early hours of the morning doing just that you become exhausted, so excuse me if I’m tired enough for my alarm not to wake me up.” There, take that you big know it all!

“Wait, you’re lazy because you’re not being lazy?”

“Yes! Exactly! Despite what you think I’m no longer that fourteen year old girl that was only getting thirties on her English tests. I try, okay? I do care and don’t like failing at everything. Except for the assignment that I was supposed to be doing this weekend, I’ve been really good.” And god willing she’d pass her end of year exams! Please, please, please let her pass!

“Well, I stand corrected. I apologise—again.” That had her laughing gleefully. “You know, this is kind of fun. Making you feel bad by proving you wrong might become my new favourite pastime.”

“Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. You’re still annoying, whiny and a complete brat.”

“And you’re still an annoying jerk that thinks he knows everything when he doesn’t.”

“We’ve come to an understanding then?”  

Usagi shrugged. “I guess so?” Did this mean that they were going to try and be friends? Well, maybe not friends but nicer to each other at least. “So we’re not going to fight anymore? It’s just that, most of the time, even when it’s bothersome… well, I kind of like it.” So sue her! She liked to spar with him sometimes. On a particularly crappy day she could take out her frustrations on him and she would feel _so much lighter_ afterwards.

“Heh, ditto. Don’t worry, I’m sure we will still annoy each other enough to fight on occasion.”

Usagi smiled—she liked this Mamoru! He was kind of fun… and kind of comfortable when she wasn’t landing on top of him. Maybe he’d been hiding under stuck-up Mamoru all along and just needed a little prompting to come out and play? She rolled in his arms to her side, brought her knees up to place them on his thigh and pressed her cheek to his chest while taking in a tired breath. He smelt good, too. Like a mix of fabric softener and something that she could only describe as being male. It was interesting and… nice. She laughed silently; yeah, she needed some sleep. “Mamoru?”

“Hmmm?”

“I’m tired.”

He rested his chin on the top of her head. “Go to sleep then.” She felt the vibrations of his throat travel along her head as he spoke, making her shiver faintly in a pleasant sort of way. He pulled his arms around her tighter and she cleared her throat, feeling almost awkward. “Well, goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Usagi.”  


End file.
